I have had some test over the past couple of months plus an antibiotic to stabilize the bacteria in my colon..Actually, this didn't do that much. The test for low pancreatic enzymes came back very low normal.

Today I saw my awesome gastroenterologist again and she is starting me on pancreatic enzymes. I don't know which one yet as script called in late so will pick up tomorrow. If the med is too expensive I won't buy it and I will shop for some pancreatic enzymes that one can buy over the counter. Doc said that I could use these pills and just follow the directions on the bottle. She said that she thinks the pills will help as research is finding that many of us with Sjogrens and other autoimmune diseases have a high proportion of malabsorption.

All I know is that the last 20 years my colon has been working differently and the last 2 years has really gotten hard to live with. I will let you know how the pills work. Irish

Doc told me to start out with 1 pill with snacks and 2 pills with a meal. If this doesn't work I can up it to 3 pills at a meal. I hope one pill works cause I am sick of taking pills and also very sick of having to pay for them. lol Irish

I had one doctors apt ono Wed and 3 doctors appointments on Thursday so I was so exhausted today that I didn't go pick up my meds. I will do that tomorrow and get back to you. My energy level is the pits lately. I always am the eternal optimist and continue to think that I will perk up some. Irish

Just to let you know that I called the pharmacy today and fond out that 270 pills were 280$ so I told the pharmacist that I would not be taking them. I was calling from Walmart where I had prices 200 pills of probiotic multi-enzyme digestive formula. This is what is on the label. It was 6.98 so I bought it. The label states that it contains papain which is some calcium and phosphorus plus Betaine hydrochlorhyde, pancreatin, amaylase, protease(papaya enzyme) and bromelain. These are all products that break down the food and make it more able to be digested and the nutrients more able to be absorbed into the blood stream.

This causes people to have less gas, diarrhea, constipation, large stools, stools that float, stools that are not the normal brown color and all the other issues that can happen. I have a lot of nausea and have had for probably 30 years so this will be interesting to see if things improve.

Many people have weight loss also because of the fact that the body isn't absorbing the nutrients. We have ore bowel movements because the food isn't getting broken down to enable digestion. Also odous stools are not uncommon. Just a little info for people that are wondering. You may want to see a GI doc so that you have documentation of any problems that you are having. My doctor ran the medication through my insurance company medicare to see if it would be covered and it was only because she knew which medical coding to use. I think I am in the donut hole already so that may be the reason the price was so high. I am just thankful there are over the counter meds. Irish

The bottle doesn't five the total USP units. It does break down the mgm per servings. Each serving is 3 tabs and contains calcium 114 mgm, phosphorus 111 mgm, Betaine hydrochloride 100 mgm, pancreatin 100 mgm, Amylase 50 mgm, Protease 50 mgm and Bromelain 25 mgm. This brand is Spring Valley from Walmart and it does have wheat in it. I would imagine there is a Gluten free enzyme tab if a person did a search online. Irish

Irish is it suppose to help with all the gastro stuff? I have been having stomach cramps, then bowel movement, then turns to diarrhea, also nausea almost daily, so I take loperamide over the counter. It usually stops the diarrhea for about 3 days, then I have this cycle repeat all over again.

The pancreas produces less enzymes which causes digestion to be interfered with. Our colon is not able to breakdown the proteins, carbs, fats, and people will have many weird symptoms. Everyone is different. Excess gas can occur, increase in bowel movements and in the amount of stool produced, diarrhea or constipation, very smelly stools and often undigested food in stools can occur.

You will want to talk this over with your doctor as taking pancreas enzymes can change how a diabetic metabolizes carbohydrates and this can affect blood sugar. It may necessitate a change in blood sugar meds. Also, there is always a chance that you have an overgrowth of bacteria can h in your colon. We diabetes can have high blood sugars which can cause the overgrowth or bmaacteria in our colon. This can be complicated by taking antibiotics for other infections. The doctor may want to do a stool specimen for sign of overgrowth of bacteria and then do a culture and to check which bacteria is overgrowing and what antibiotic can be used to treat this.

It is so exhausting having a chronic disease and trying to keep up with all these things. Plus not feeling good makes it really hard to be strong and brave and endure. Hope you can get some help with this and feel better. Irish

Irish I appreciate all the information. I can tell my stomach cannot break down food. I had that going on again today, and went for the loperamide right after eating. Had to lay down awhile while it started taking effect and felt so weak. I am trying to get more water down now so I won't get dehydrated.

I hope you can get to the doctor as you could have an infection in your colon or a bad yeast infection. With your diabetes and varying blood sugars it is really easy to get these issues. I don't want you to end up in the hospital. Good luck. Irish